Safety fastener



Oct. 1, 1968 M. B. SHEFFER 3,403,428

SAFETY FASTENER Filed Jan. 10, 1967 INVENTOR. M46605 RSI/[F1 66 UnitedStates Patent 3,403,428 SAFETY FASTENER Marcus B. Shelfer, Northville,Mich., assignor of ten percent to Thomas H. Somerville, Lathrup Village,five percent each to Richard P. Horsch, Farmington, and Marcus Shelfer,Northville, Mich., trustee for Patricia Samuel, until she reaches age 21Filed Jan. 10, 1967, Ser. No. 608,395

1 Claim. (Cl. 24-161) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relatesto a safety fastener having jaws for engaging materials, such as two ormore sheets of fabric, and firmly holding them together or in a selectedposition. The fastener is comprised of a coil having inte gral,elongated elements extending substantially tangentially and divergentlyaway from the coil. The jaws are preferably integral with the outer freeends of the elongated elements and they have U-shaped end portionsopening toward each other. The outer legs of the U-shaped members arepointed and are overlapped when the fastener is in its untensionedposition. Thus, by manually urging the elongated elements toward eachother, the jaws are opened for insertion of the material to be engagedbetween the pointed legs. Release of the pin automatically permits suchengagement. The coil and most of the elongated elements are covered witha coating of material which is preferably elastomeric and adheres to thecoil and elements. Also, said coating provides a nonskid surface.

Almost every adult has experienced concern over a lost safety pin, ofthe conventional type, which was thought to have been attached to aninfants garments or bedding. In too many instances, the lost safety pinhas been swallowed by the infant in an unfastened condition which makesits removal very difficult and dangerous, and has been known to causedeath before it could be removed.

While the conventional safety pin, and the numerous substitutes for theconventional safety pin, have served their purposes well, there arecertain disadvantages which have been encountered in their use which ithas been the purpose of this invention to overcome. Particularly,existing safety pins and their known substitutes are difficult to handleif the users hands are moist or oily, as they frequently are, when thesefasteners are being applied to or removed from the garments of infants.

The conventional safety pin has an integral coil at one end which isintended to give an increased resilience and flexibility to the relativemovements between the two elements of the pin which extend away from thecoil. The areas of overlap in the coil create traps for contaminatingmaterial and rust. Often, the coil is partially enclosed by an end capwhich merely aggravates this problem.

Accordingly, a primary object of this invention has been the provisionof a pin-type, safety fastener which is especially designed for use onthe garments and bedding of infants, which has built-in guards forshielding the pointed ends of the fastener whenever it is in its normaluntensioned position, and which is coated with an elastomeric, nonskidmaterial so that it can be positively gripped and thereby easilyoperated at all times.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a safetyfastener, as aforesaid, which is easy to operate, positive in itsaction, simple in construction and easy to maintain in a sanitarycondition.

Other objects and purposes of this invention will become apparent topersons familiar with the use and operation of safety fasteners uponreading the following descriptive material and examining theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a broken side view of the safety fastener when it isgripping some sheet material.

FIGURE 2 is a side view of said fastener with its gripping jaws in theopen position.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along the-line III--III in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a top view of the fastener.

FIGURE 5 is a front view of the fastener with its jaws in the normal,closed position.

FIGURE 6 is a side view similar to FIGURE 1 without the coating ofelastomeric, nonskid material.

FIGURE 7 is a broken top view of the fastener as appearing in FIGURE 6.

Detailed description The safety fastener 10, a preferred embodimentofwhich is illustrated in FIGURE 1, is comprised essentially of a V-shapedmember 11 which is integral with a pair of oppositely facing U-shapedjaws 12 and 13.

The V-shaped member 11 has a pair of elongated elements 14 and 16(FIGURE 1) which are preferably integral with and extend tangentiallyaway from the coil 17 at the apex of the member 11. The construction ofthe coil 17 may vary, but the preferred embodiment will comprise aboutone and one-half turns of a coiled spring which is integral with theelements or arms 14 and 16. When the spring coil 17 is in a relaxedcondition, it tends to hold said arms in the V-shape, substantially asshown in FIGURE 6. The coiled spring 17 may be engaged along its rearedge by the end cap or keeper 18, which retains the coils of the springclose to one another, while permitting a limited amount of uncoiling toprovide the spring action. Said keeper additionally creates a strongerspring action beyond certain limits, which are imposed by its presence,such as the distance the arms 14 and 16 may move apart.

The U-shaped members or jaws 12 and 13 are preferably identical andtherefore the following description of member 12 is equally applicableto member 13. Jaw 12 has a pair of substantially parallel legs 19 and21, which are connected by a bight 22. Leg 19 is integral with the outerend of arm 14 and may be located approximately at a right angle thereto.Leg 21, as illustrated, may be sharpened to a point 23 in order tofacilitate its penetration through the bedding or clothing 26 to be heldby the fastener.

The jaws 12 and 13 are arranged so that they are closely adjacent andtheir U-shaped contours open toward each other. Thus, the legs 21 and21A of U-shaped members 12 and 13, respectively, will lie close to eachother and be overlapped when the fastener is in the relaxed position(FIGURE 6).

When viewed from the top, as shown in FIGURES 4 and 7, arms 14 and 16are crossed between the coil 17 and jaws 12 and 13. The normalelasticity of said arms is such that it tends to force said arms into aparallel alignment, thereby producing a force which is contrary to saidcrossing and which urges said U-shaped members 12 and 13 closelytogether. Accordingly, leg 19 of U-shaped member 12 is in slideablecontact with leg 19A of U-shaped member 13. This arrangement facilitatesthe handling of the safety fastener 10 since said fastener has lesstendency to twist and/or spread apart sidewardly as the elements 14 and16 are urged together in preparation for use. Moreover, this arrangementresists a tendency for the jaws to separate sidewardly when they areholding bedding or clothing.

The coil 17, arms 14 and 16, and jaws 12 and 13 of the safety fastener10 may be constructed from a single piece of spring wire ofsubstantially uniform cross section- The end cap or keeper 18 may bemade of a suitable sheet material, such as steel, and pressed around thecoil 17.

The V-shaped member 11, as illustrated in FIGURES 1 through 4, is coatedwith an elastomeric, nonskid material 25 which is preferably soft andresilient, thereby providing a superior grip when it is manually engagedto open said fastener. Said coating may be provided by dipping saidV-shaped member into a suitable elastic material, which preferablyadheres to the metal of the V- shaped member 11. Thus, contaminatingmaterials are prevented from entering between the coating and thesurface of the member 11.

The safety fastener 10 may be opened manually by grasping the arms 14and 16 between the thumb and forefinger of a human hand and pressingthem together. As a result, the U-shaped members 12 and 13 are caused toseparate and provide an opening 24 between the sharpened points 23 and23A on the legs 21 and 21A, respectively, into which the sheet material26, for example, may be inserted. When the pressure upon the arms 14 and16 is released, said arms will spring apart toward the relaxed position,thereby causing the points 23 and 23A to close upon and penetrate thematerial to be held.

It will be noted in FIGURE 6 that, as the jaws of the safety fastenerapproach their untensioned or gripping position, the legs 21 and 21A ofthe jaws 12 and 13 tend to slope inwardly toward the coil 17 of theV-shaped member 11, thus providing a more secure grip upon the clothingor bedding. If tension is applied to the clothing or bedding, it tendsto imbed said points further into the material being held. Should safetyfastener 10 become dislodged from the infants garments, the same willassume the untensioned position of FIGURE 6, thereby shielding the sharppoints 23 and 23A so that an infant will not be injured by handling thefastener. The safety fastener 10 may be provided in various convenientsizes, with the range of from one to two inches in length beingpreferred for general use on clothing or bedding. Also the coating canbe provided in attractive colors which also help to locate a mislaidfastener.

Although a particular preferred embodiment of the invention has beendescribed above in detail for illustrative purposes, it will berecognized that variations or modifications of such disclosure, whichlie within the scope of the appended claims, are fully contemplated.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A device for gripping an article, comprising:

a substantially V shaped, resiliently flexible member having an integralcoil of approximately one and 4 one-half turns at the apex thereof and apair of elongated elements extending outwardly from and integrallyconnected to said coil, said V-shaped member being formed from a single,elongated piece of spring steel of uniform, cross section substantiallythroughout its length;

a channel-shaped end cap clamped upon the overlapped turns of said coilfor retaining the coils closely adjacent one another;

a pair of substantially Ushaped jaws opening toward each other anddisposed in adjacent, substantially parallel planes, one of said'U-shaped jaws being integrally connected to one of said elongatedelements adjacent'the end thereof remote from said coil, the other ofsaid U-shaped jaws being integrally connected to the other elongatedelement adjacent the end thereof remote from said coil;

each of said U-shaped jaws having first and second straight,substantially parallel legs and a straight bight portion interconnectingsaid first and second legs, said bight portion being substantiallytransverse to and integrally connected to said first and second legsadjacent one end of each, whereby each of said jaws thus defines asubstantially rectangular opening, the other end of said first leg ofeach of said jaws being integrally connected to its respective elongatedelement, and the other end of said second leg of each of said jaws beingfree and having a point formed thereon; and

a coating of elastomeric material having a high coefiicient of surfacefriction completely enclosing said cap and V-shaped member up to pointsadjacent said U-shaped jaws, said elastomeric material adhering to saidV-shaped member in tight sealing engagement therewith for preventingcontaminating materials from entering between said coating and saidV-shaped member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 217,719 7/1879 Wood 24161 XR553,049 1/1896 Boden 24-161 2,180,726 11/1939 Bradley 24-87 XR 2,284,0045/1942 McCurdy 24261.3 XR 2,585,089 2/ 1952 Caldwell et a1. 242612,711,637 6/1955 Wells 24261.1 XR 3,293,712 12/1966 Mark 2416l FOREIGNPATENTS 13,115 1904 Great Britain.

DONALD A. GRIFFIN, Primary Examiner.

